The Most Enormous Geek
by shieldmaidenoftherohirrim
Summary: Scorpius remembers his conversation with the Sorting Hat - my attempt at explaining why Scorpius was sorted where he was, considering to me he didn't seem to obviously fit the mould. Oneshot. Contains Cursed Child Spoilers.


_**A/N: Upon finishing the Cursed Child (which I did love, by the way) I found I had a lot of questions and feelings about a lot of aspects that you can't convey too well in a play. One of them was why Scorpius, a gentle sweet boy who doesn't seem particularly cunning or sneaky in any way, would get sorted into Slytherin (I love Slytherin, it just didn't seem very Scorpius) - so I decided to try to answer that question myself, resulting in my first fanfic since about 2010. Oh and yes I know that hat supposedly was very quick sorting him, but in all honesty I think the hat would've taken a lot longer than it apparently did. Contains Cursed Child spoilers.**_

 _ **Also massive thank you to my beta, idreamofdraco, for taking the time to look over my fic and for calling me out on my excessive use of commas!**_

 _September 1_ _st_ _2022_

"You really are an enormous geek, you know that?" Albus laughs and elbows Scorpius. "Nine Os and one E in your owls - you really, quite honestly are the biggest geek I've had the pleasure of knowing, and Hermione Granger is my aunt!" He steals a chocolate frog from his friend's pile and puts his feet up on the opposite train seat. "Meanwhile, here I am feeling relieved that I just managed to scrape the required OWLs for the NEWTs I want to take!"

Scorpius laughs and agrees with the familiar comment from his friend. He doesn't mind it coming from him – it doesn't sting, when Albus says it – not like it does when Polly Chapman or Christopher Jones taunt him. Though, he thinks, even though it hurts when the other kids make comments, it is true. He really, genuinely, is an enormous geek.

He supposes that that's what happens when you have a lonely childhood, when you don't have friends to play with growing up. You learn to bury yourself in books, learning, and facts. And you have an awful lot of time to think, and analyse. And when you've had that childhood, even when you do manage to find a friend, a best friend, with whom you _can_ laugh and joke, you don't ever really lose your affinity to books and the treasure of knowledge they contain. He wouldn't really want to, anyway. Knowledge is useful – and _exciting_. Being able to think and have a sharp mind is priceless!

Indeed, "wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Scorpius starts, as he realises he's just quoted the Ravenclaw motto to himself. Though, quite honestly, he would have done well in Ravenclaw; the traits fit him like a glove. The hat _did_ nearly put him there, after all. He thinks back, remembering, and smiles slightly.

 _September 1_ _st_ _2017_

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

Scorpius steps forward, nervous and hyper-aware of the stares that are following him as he moves to sit on the stool and places the hat on his head.

 _Oh, another Malfoy hm?_

The hat chuckles, and Scorpius' tummy clenches.

 _In all my time here I've never sorted a Malfoy who wasn't Slytherin…_

He says it quietly though, in Scorpius' head, and Scorpius knows the hat hasn't made up its mind yet.

 _Hmmm, but you. You're not as easy as the others were… Let's see… There's definitely a kind heart here, and a lot of loyalty… Hmm perhaps Hufflepuff?_

"Mr Hat, I'm not sure my father would really like it if I were in Hufflepuff – I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with it or anything, but I just… would rather not," Scorpius rushes out his thoughts, before the hat decides it ought to bellow out Hufflepuff without thinking it through more.

 _Yes… Maybe not… Hmm… Ravenclaw would also be a good match for you,_ the hat muses. _You have a sharp mind. A deep love of books, too, I see – a desire for knowledge that I haven't seen since Hermione Granger… Yes… perhaps Ravenclaw…_

 _But yet, you are a Malfoy, and Malfoys usually go in Slytherin – though I don't see an awful lot of cunning in you… or a desire for leadership and greatness. But oh yes, you are clever, and you are quite resourceful._

Scorpius thinks back to his childhood up until now, and knows that he really had to be resourceful or he'd have gone mad with loneliness. It wasn't an option. When you're not around other children and have no friends, you either have to be resourceful and cope somehow, or just not cope at all. But, he thinks miserably, he hasn't done a very good job at it anyway. He's so strange and awkward when he talks to other children his age, he clearly didn't cope all that well at all anyway.

 _I also see a determined spirit in you, young Mr Malfoy. A determination to prove that Malfoys can be kind and tolerant, despite what other people think. Yes, yes I do indeed think that you would do very well in Slytherin House…_

 _But in Ravenclaw you really would thrive…_

Scorpius knows that his dad wouldn't really mind if he got put in Ravenclaw. Really, he may even be relieved, he thinks, as it might stop the rumours. If he really _was_ Voldemort's son then of course the only choice would be Slytherin, so if the hat put him in Ravenclaw then maybe people would forget…

But then, maybe that's why he should really be Slytherin anyway, even though he most certainly is _not_ Voldemort's child. Nineteen years after the Second Wizarding War, and people still have nasty prejudices against Slytherin House. There's a part of him that wants to prove that they're wrong. He wants to prove that Malfoy members of Slytherin House can be kind and loyal. He wants to prove that just because he's a Slytherin student it does not mean that he is the child of Voldemort and he wants to show that Slytherin is _not_ a house of dark wizards.

 _So you've made up your mind, then?_ The hat asks, and Scorpius starts, unaware that he'd really made any decision about anything. _So be it then… SLYTHERIN!_ The hat roars, and Scorpius barely notices the Slytherin students clapping as he stumbles to his seat, half smiling but still completely stunned.

When he hears Polly Chapman comment that his sorting made sense, though, he wonders if perhaps he should have asked to go into Ravenclaw after all, and he puts his head in his hands as his tummy twists in anxiety yet again.

It's only when he hears the hat sort Albus Potter, the only boy who was kind to him on the train, into Slytherin, that the knot in Scorpius' tummy untangles and his doubts disappear. He grins, jubilant, and calls his new friend over: feeling, for the first time, entirely happy with being in Slytherin.

Yes, his sorting may well be perfect after all.


End file.
